Amends the Fire Protection District Act. Deletes a provision requiring referendum approval of a district's annexation of surrounded unincorporated territory under 60 acres.
Amends a Section of the School Code concerning the School Technology Revolving Loan Program. Provides that funds may be used for the purpose of making the integration of technology in the classroom possible. Provides that loans shall be made available to public school districts, charter schools, area vocational centers, and laboratory schools on a 2-year rotating basis (now, loans are made to school districts on a 3-year rotating basis). Provides that at least 90% of loan proceeds shall be used for technology hardware investments and up to 10% for computer furniture. Provides that the State Board of Education may adopt rules specifying collateral. Effective July 1, 2003.
Amends the Employment of Strikebreakers Act. Provides that no person may knowingly contract with a day and temporary labor service agency to replace an employee during a strike or lockout.
Amends the Illinois Highway Code and the Conveyances Act. Provides that a public water service or public sanitary service utility must pay for any physical damage it causes to improvements lawfully located in a road or highway right-of-way. Provides that property that includes a portion of a highway or road but is subject to the highway or road shall not be considered to "end" at the highway or road. Provides that a utility must obtain consent to use a road or highway for public utility purposes from a lawful owner of the roadway or highway property (i.e. a person whose deed of conveyance lawfully includes the property, whether or not made subject to the highway or road) who does not pay taxes by reason of the farmland assessment provisions of the Property Tax Code. Provides that the term "conveyance" expressly excludes a road, street, highway, or alley if the legal description expressly states that the road, street, highway, or alley is excepted from the property being conveyed. Provides that the rights accruing to the abutting property owner shall be subject to all existing uses and easements located within the right-of-way and shall also be subject to such future uses and easements as may be permitted to be located within the right-of-way under the provisions of the Illinois Highway Code. Makes other changes.
Amends the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act. Makes changes in provisions allowing the Department to issue a Freestanding Emergency Center license to a facility based on location. Deletes provisions making the Freestanding Emergency Center license part of a demonstration program.
Creates the Local Legacy Act. Creates the Local Legacy Board and establishes its membership, powers, and duties. Provides that the Board must choose a chairperson, adopt rules necessary to implement the Act, and submit a report to the General Assembly and the Governor by January 1, 2005 and every 2 years thereafter. Creates the Local Legacy Program to fund county-municipal partnerships for the purpose of inventorying and protecting natural areas, farmland, and cultural resources. Requires counties interested in program funds to form a Local Steering Committee composed of county board members, municipal officers, and local residents and provides procedures for Committee oversight of grant requests. Authorizes the Committee to develop criteria and a Resource Protection Plan for prioritizing resources and the use of grant moneys under the Act. Allows a local municipality to object in writing to all or some of the Resource Protection Plan and provides that those counties, municipalities, and units of local government that have adopted a Resource Protection Plan shall receive preferential status for grant moneys under the Act. Creates the Local Legacy Fund as a special fund in the State treasury and specifies the purposes for which the Fund moneys may be used.
Amends the Illinois Police Training Act to provide instruction for the handling of domestic violence complaints with the guidelines developed by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board and representatives from named State and private offices with an interest in preventing domestic violence. Amends the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 to mandate the implementation of a system for recording domestic violence calls and annually reporting the number of those calls. Provides that law enforcement officers shall also annotate signs of whether the alleged abuser was under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance.
Amends the School Code. Provides that the State Board of Education shall accept, as qualifications for non-certified personnel, relevant life experiences as determined by the State Board by rule.
Amends the Telecommunications Article of the Public Utilities Act. Provides that only telecommunications carriers that provide local exchange service (rather than all carriers) are required to notify their end-users (rather than all customers) about contributions to fund the Program to Foster the Elimination of the Digital Divide. Provides that notice need not be given to end-users subscribing to cellular radio service, high-speed data transmission service, pay phone service, and certain other services.
Amends the Chicago Park District Act. Makes technical changes in a Section creating the Chicago Park District.
Amends the Criminal Code of 1961 relating to retail theft. Provides that a lessee of personal property is civilly liable to the owner of the property if the lessee fails to return the property to the owner or fails to pay the full retail value of the property to the lessor in violation of a contract provision to do so, within 10 days after written demand from the owner for the property's return. Effective immediately.
Amends the State Parks Act. Provides that, notwithstanding provisions declaring it a violation to cut, break, injure, destroy, take, or remove any tree, shrub, timber, plant, or natural object in any park or parkway, the Department of Natural Resources may, by administrative rule, authorize edible fungi, nut, and berry collection in those areas of Department owned, leased, or managed lands where the collecting would not be in conflict or incompatible with (i) Department of Natural Resources natural resource management or recreational programs for that area and (ii) the Natural Areas Preservation Act. Effective immediately.
